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The Roman Laws of the Twelve Tables, c. 449 BCE
An infographic illustrating The Laws of the Twelve Tables were a set of ancient Roman laws put together and displayed in public around 450 BCE. These laws formed the core of the Roman legal system and provided a written code of conduct and...
Definition
Crucifixion
Crucifixion as a punishment was practiced by several ancient cultures, but most notably adopted by the Roman Republic and later Roman Empire. Crucifixion was a method of hanging or suspending someone on the combination of vertical and horizontal...
Definition
Corpus Juris Civilis
The Justinian Code or Corpus Juris Civilis (Corpus of Civil Law) was a major reform of Byzantine law created by Emperor Justinian I (r. 527-565 CE) in 528-9 CE. Aiming to clarify and update the old Roman laws, eradicate inconsistencies and...
Definition
Alemanni
The Alemanni (also known as the Alamanni and the Alamans, meaning "All Men" or "Men United") were a confederacy of Germanic-speaking people who occupied the regions south of the Main and east of the Rhine rivers in present-day...
Article
Government and Taxes under Diocletian and Constantine
The state created by Diocletian and Constantine used to be described as despotic and oppressive, extracting higher taxes and threatening its subjects with punishments for non-compliance. Recent research, however, paints a different picture...
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Ancient Rome: Class and Social System
In this video, the various classes within Roman society, as well as the Conflict of the Orders are discussed.
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Rome
Love, sex, and marriage in ancient Rome were defined by the patriarchy. The head of the household was the father (the pater familias) who had complete control over the lives of his wife, children, and slaves. This paradigm was justified...
Definition
Pharaoh
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader of the people and held the titles 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'. The word 'pharaoh' is the Greek form of the Egyptian pero or per-a-a, which was...
Definition
Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi was a set of 282 laws inscribed in stone by the Babylonian king Hammurabi (r. 1795-1750 BCE) who conquered and then ruled ancient Mesopotamia. Although his law code was not the first, it was the most clearly defined...
Article
Bureaucracy in the Achaemenid Empire: Learning from the Past
In the early days of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE), the kings came to realise that, if they were to be able to administer the vast mass of land and the multicultural people who inhabited it, they had to create an organizational system...